Birdcage
by Galateia Erle
Summary: Syaoran Li, a fairly young vampire, targets an odd girl named Sakura to be his next victim, but only when they meet does she become the last victim on his death list and the first to capture and enrapture his heart.
1. Moth to a Flame

Card Captor Sakura is copyright CLAMP

AN: I hate doing these AN's, but hopefully this'll be the only one throughout the entire story. I'll probably post them on my profile from now on. --;

Anyways, as you all should know, this is an S&S ficcy. Alternative Universe. And sorry, no cards! No flying stuffed animals and magical ice-shooting angels either! But im sure you'll find my story amusing and interesting. (I got tired of reading fics that were all happy and cheerful and just peachy... guess im basically saying cliche.) You'll come across a few sexual things/hints later in the story, so be prepared. But it wont be anything... er... graphic. Any critique is welcome! (The good, the bad, the ugly) And I would greatly appreciate it if anyone points out misspellings, mess-ups, and/or anything similar. (I normally miss things, even after re-reading the chapter a good 2-5 times. And I don't have spell check, which bites dust. So my spelling might be off.) Story is done in Syaoran's POV.

Well, enjoy!

Tell me, do you know how it feels to live in darkness nearly all of your life? One can imagine. But imagining is not enough. One could experiment with the idea, attempt to live as I have, but it will always fall short of the real experience. Especially if you've been living in it for well over a hundred years, just as I have. Then again, I've never had the pleasure of explaining it... or my version of it at least.

As you've probably guessed by now, I am a Vampire. A blood drinker. Not the type you see in the over exaggerated Dracula movies, mixed with the fantasies of men and the old rumors from long ago. Driving a wooden stake through our hearts would do nothing but make us furious, and probably a more painful death for the assault ant. And garlic? I could wear wreaths of it around my neck for days on end, if it didn't hurt my sensitive nose. And crosses. Ah yes, crosses. Couldn't be further from the truth, I assure you. In this day and age the crucifix has become a fashion statement, and even a few true vampires of these modern times can be seen wearing them around their necks and off of bracelets and the like as they stalk their next victims night after night, showing they fear no god.

But don't take my previous statement of our existence to be falsely exposed by these movies to the public. Oh, no, by far! There are truths to it. Such as the fact that we are masters of seduction, and our unnatural beauty lures our victims to us quite easily. And yes, the sun and fire can destroy us as well as dismemberment. But only by dismemberment if our limbs are scattered about and out of reach but not so far out of reach as for the destructive rays of sunlight.

Stories depicted by authors such as Anne Rice are at times, surprisingly enough, impressively accurate. But not always correct. Such as levitation. We can jump to impressive heights, but flight is impossible for us, even for the oldest of my kind.

But enough of that. Im sure you're eager to hear my story now as I am to get on with it. But allow me to warn you before hand, I tend to get off topic at times or drawl things out so far that they soon become a new topic all together. But I'll try my best to avoid such happenings. All I ask is for you to bear with me and listen to my tale. I'll attempt to finish it tonight before the rising sun of morning, for this is my last night before I depart to find the one whom this story is revolved around.

Birdcage

:: 1 ::

::Moth to a Flame::

The day was the thirteenth of August, the year not important, only that you know it takes place during the 21st Century. I had awaken out of my death-like slumber as always, waking to the thirst as any young vampire would have (I myself having walked amongst the dead for only 122 years). The soft blood-red velvet lining of the coffin I slept in during the day brushed against my limbs as I began to push the heavy stone lid off to the side, allowing me room to escape the tiny prison-like space.

I crawled out with feline grace, as I had always done during past nights, and into the warm enveloping summer air that hung lazily close to the ground with the humidity.

The sounds of humming crickets, croaking toads, and distant traffic flooded my ears as the smell of the dead, unnoticable to humans, and decaying wood entered my nostrils. I glanced around before dusting myself off quickly out of habit, as I always did before a hunt, and began to make my way through the rows of granite and such stones that made up the head stones of each grave.

I hunted every night. Normally taking only one victim per hunt, and two if the hunger was greatly eating away at the insides of my body (which was the case on that night), before destroying the evidence of my kill by incinerating it in some dark random alley in the dirtier parts of town. The part of town where I had normally hunted and would find my first kill for that night.

I had fancied myself as a graceful killer. Using my best skills and talents to attract the most delicious of prey, which was normally a young male or female with egos and pride far too annoying for others, but enough to satisfy me. And on occasion, the lost drunk or drug dealer if the 'good one's' weren't avaliable or anywhere near.

Being a vampire gave me unnatural grace and elegance to my gait, but after a couple of years of practice I had mastered what I once did on a daily basis in my mortal life. Simply walking as a human would. Gangly and partly slouched over, dragging their heels at times. And it was this imitation I used that night to deceive a desperate drug dealer, trying to get back the cash he owed to the man he was selling for, before he would be shot dead the following day. Apparently he had lost it at a party from the previous night, too wasted to realize someone was picking his pocket. By the time he had found out, it had been too late to recover.

Low pressure sodium lights flickered from a distance, a trail of them lighting the black asphalt road, threads of light barely bright enough to touch me or my prey. The old red bricked buildings, falling apart from Times cruel work and erosion, towered around us with gaps between to buildings, creating dark ominous alley ways where few would dare to tread. Perfect.

I sauntered up to him, half hidden as I played the shadows like a deck of cards in a Dealers hands. It took him a few moments to notice my presence, but only because he was preoccupied with selling Mary Jane to a duo of young middle schoolers. They quickly ran off when they saw me standing there quietly, and this was what drew the teens attention to me.

He was around 5'11 with unkempt shaggy black hair, tucked under an orange beanie. Though the night was warm, he wore a navy blue wind breaker, no doubt to conceal his fine illegal products and dirty money, with matching pants. His white sneakers were worn badly and needed replacing, but I doubt he paid any attention. Apparently he hadn't bathed in a few days either. The stench of sweat and dirt was emitting from him strongly. But I paid no mind.

He sent a glare at me with his light blue eyes over his narrow bird-like nose.

"Well? You gunna buy some or wut? I know you ain't no cop cuz you didn't bust me when I was dealin' with the twerps a sec ago. Plus, you ain't got that cop look. So, you gunna buy or waste my time? Cuz I don't have all night. Have other customers waitin'."

How horrible his english was. But no matter. Blood was blood, tainted with drugs or alcohol or not. And I was hungry for it, and leaving without it was out of the question. I smiled, but not enough to show my fangs. I could visibly see him shudder.

"What is it, _friend_?" I asked without hesitation. "Is there something on my face?" I took a step forward.

He was paling considerably by now. Ah, so quick to realize the danger. Maybe he wasn't such a twit after all.

I watched as his eyes darted back and forth from my paper white skin to my barely visible teeth then back to my eyes. Apparently the small amount of light from the distant light post had illuminated my face and enhanced the luster of my eyes. At least enough to alert him that something wasn't right. Something not normal.

"W-well? You want some or what?! If not, then I have other's waitin for me!"

A lie.

I could tell he was growing more tense. I could hear his heart racing like the thunder of horse hooves in a race. Sweat glistened on his skin as he began to shake a little more violently than just a few minutes ago. He would bolt any minute.

"And where _will_ you go?"

Those five simple word were enough to give him the burst of adrenaline he needed to dart away from me, but fortunately for me, I was quicker.

My arm shot out towards him in god-like speed and grabbed the back of his neck with unnecessary strength. I saw him wince for a brief second before struggling in vain to escape my death grip. I unconsciously felt my other hand shoot out and secure one of his upper arms before jerking him around. And in a flash I had sunk my teeth into the artery in his neck filled with life giving blood.

Blood gushed from the wound and poured heavily into my mouth as I sucked at his dirty neck. I felt my eyes roll back into my head as I closed my eyes. The thick liquid running hotly over my tongue and down my throat, the burning sensation running down through my chest then into my limbs and face, bringing a little of the color I had lost from my mortal life back into my cold skin. How hot it and savory it was! More blood pulsed from the wound, filling my being with every pump of his fighting heart. I felt his struggling body beneath mine slowly weaken.

I dug my teeth deeper into the wound, making a larger opening, pulling a groan from deep within his throat. The hand that gripped my sleeve now fell limply to his side as his labored breathing became shallow, followed by the sounds of loud cracking from his rib cage as I had crushed him against a brick wall in my hunger without realizing it.

Then it stopped.

I felt myself carefully pull away, making sure not to let a drop get past my ever searching tongue. Though his heart had stopped, he was still alive. But only for a brief moment. I placed a light kiss on his lips before dropping him to the ground with a thud. My parting kiss.

I left the body there, deciding that I would come back for it once I had satisfied my ever raging hunger.

My next victim I had caught scent of nearly half a mile away. Ah, such fragrance! It was refreshing and exhilarating compared to the smells of garbage, dirt, and infestation in these parts. I could tell then it was female. Only a female would use a shampoo that smelled so strongly of flowers.

I licked my lips. She was young, just like the boy I had just killed, perhaps a year or two younger. Nearly a mere child. Well, this time I would be quick and as painless as possible. It wasn't in my nature to inflict pain upon children. But what baffled me was her scent. It was unaccompanied by any others, and it was in the direction of an ancient field that was at one time a burial ground for soldiers and warriors and the like. It would become her place of death as well.

With my vampiric speed and agility I had reached a secluded part of the field, separated from the rest with a lining of trees. Patches of wild wheat were now turning golden from the changing season and stuck out from the fresh green grass and weeds that lay in-between each island of gold.

What could a child possibly be doing out here at this time of night? Shouldn't she be tucked away in a warm bed under a roof with loving parents around her, telling her sweet nothings before departing and leaving her to sleep?

It only took me a few moments to locate her. She played amongst a fallen tree that had been ripped up from its roots from an unknown force, resting at an upward angle. A few boulders and rocks were strewn about, a few covered with velvety green and yellow moss.

I crept closer, enough to get a better view but not enough to be seen out of the black shadows.

She had fair skin, mostly covered by a white cotton night gown with thin shoulder straps, the frilly bottom opening brushing her ankles as she stood around 5'5 or so. Her silky auburn hair reached her waist in flowing tassels caught in the gentle breeze as her deep set emerald eyes darted about from one object to the next while she moved around the large trunk, as if she were looking for something. She looked older than I had first speculated. Probably around seventeen.

Suddenly she stopped her search and looked up. And in my direction no less.

I felt myself shrink further back into the shadows, thinking it would make me seemingly invisible to any human eye and cause her to think nothing of my presence and continue her work. But her gaze never shifted from me, only her body moved around until it was fully around as well, facing my direction. I did all except move from my place. Some how she knew.

I felt my mind reach out for hers, trying to penetrate into her thoughts. To know for certain if she had actually noticed me, or still knew I was here. But when my mind came to hers, I saw nothing in that head of hers. As if she knew what I was doing and had put up a wall between our minds. I was growing more wary with the passing moments.

Slowly and carefully she took a few steps in my direction, but stopped after only taken two or three strides. Without warning, she opened her mouth and said, "I know you're there. You can come out, I promise I wont hurt you." her voice soft and like bells, nearly a whisper if it had not substance.

I was shocked, as im sure you can imagine. She knew! She knew I was there and she was actually calling out to me! Of course I knew she couldn't hurt me, the whole idea was absurd. But she knew not, for that I was certain. But the fact remained that she _knew_!

I took a few slow steps into the moonlight. I must have been a sight. The full moon gave off enough light to reveal nearly every detail of me. At least, from a distance. Though I could read no thoughts from that pretty head of hers, I could see myself in her vision. Tall and erect. Posture of a nobleman. My skin as white as the moon itself. My cloak swaying lazily behind and around me. All garments under the cloak hidden in shadow. The chestnut hair on my scalp danced with the wind and my eyes sharp with the sparkle of immortality. We must have stood nearly thirty yards apart from one another.

I slowly got over my shock when the thought of killing her aroused my mind. Of course not out of cold blood, but rather to quell the hunger within me, which was quickly being forgotten and replaced with fascination for this creature. A question nagged at me. How did she know I was there?

She turned around after seeing me and returned to her search. Can't say I wasn't slightly offended. She knew I was here and wasn't afraid. Well, perhaps I'd amuse myself by pulling the answer out of her on how she knew I was there watching.

I casually walked up to her, her back still facing me, before resting my weight on my right arm as I leaned on the trunk. It was then I noticed the tears in her night gown in the skirt. Her apparel must have been torn in well over twenty places, a small thin stick caught in one of the tears.

I was on the verge of inquiring about what she was doing when she spoke up.

"St. Michael." she spoke to me.

"What?"

I felt myself raise an eyebrow. I saw her smile.

"You're like St. Michael. The archangel that descended upon Egypt to claim every first born. Except you don't target just the first born, right?"

Shocked. That's what I was. So she knew of this as well... well, I'd definitely have to get rid of this child. She probably knew more.

When I didn't answer, she looked up with her large childlike green eyes. After a moment of silence, I finally spoke up.

"What are you doing down there? Did you lose something?"

"No and yes."

"Then what are you doing?"

"Looking for Jumper."

"For what?"

"Jumper, my pet mouse."

As if the wall between our minds melted, I saw a vision in her mind.

Through her eyes I saw her kneel down next to a mouse trap where a mouse had been caught by the tail in a trap. The small creature struggled to free itself, but in vain before falling onto it's belly to gasp for air, the bait several inches away. Her silken hands came into the picture as they reached out and grabbed the trap, pulling the mouth apart to free the mouse. But the mouse in its exhaustion lay there limply, probably wishing for death. Gently she cupped her hands around the mouse, it's bloodied tail hanging out from between her fingers, before she laid it on her lap and pulled a white ribbon out of her hair, carefully wrapping it around the tail and tieing it.

The vision ended.

A silence had descended upon us as I watched her move about, then to the bottom of the tree, where an opening was. And without fear I watched her crawl into the hole, only to exclaim, "I found him!" a few minutes later and re-emerging from the hole with her hands cupped with the mouse within. She sent an innocent smile of triumph towards me, holding her enclosed hands up for me to see.

How innocent and childish her actions were. So very innocent and naive.

Suddenly her smile fell as she adverted her gaze towards the ground, as if the rocks and pebbles held an interest for her.

"Can you tell me, angel, is my mother in heaven?"

Angel? So she had thought I an angel? Explains her lack of fear towards me. Better clear up this understanding first.

"Angel? Im sorry, but you're mistaken."

A look of shock crossed her features as she gazed back up at me.

"But you have to be! I prayed for a sign that my mother is in heaven, and here you are! You must be an angel to tell me everything is all right! You just have to be!" I suddenly saw a flash of vision from her of her mother. But it was very brief, disapating almost as soon as she had summoned it forth. "Though you look human, your eyes sparkle like the stars in the sky and your skin glows white like the moonlight! Unless..." she trailed.

"Unless what? Im a demon?" I chuckled.

She nodded fervently like a child does when they are positive they're correct on a matter.

"Closer to a demon than an angel, my dear child." I spoke gently, giving a wicked grin in hopes of frightening her. Instead, her eyes widened slightly.

"I always imagined demons to be impish and burnt black with blazing red eyes and horns, carrying small pitchforks as they danced in fired, laughing evilly!"

I wanted to slap my forehead. How cliche. But what was I to expect from a girl that had the mentality of a child? Or so she seemed. She quickly continued,

"But you're so beautiful. I never expected demons to be pretty!"

Once again came the urge to slap my forehead. I decided to cut in before she got carried away with her flattery and might have stirred some emotion within me.

"Dear child, I never caught your name."

She looked a bit embarrassed before saying, "My name is Kinomoto, Sakura. And you?"

I mentally shrugged. What harm could revealing a name be?

"Li Syaoran."

"Sounds chinese."

"That's because it is, my dear. But what on earth were you doing out here, and at this time and alone no less?"

She frowned, not out of annoyance or concentration, but rather a sadness.

"Father is sad because my mom died. She died a two days ago from an accident."

Again came the visions.

The scene took place at night. I saw from the eyes of Sakura her mother, drunk, possibly high from weed or some other drug. The dark rings deep set under her dull grey eyes as she stood atop a bridge over a drying river. Her long wavy violet hair, with a few strands of grey and white from stress entwined, tangled and dirty flowed behind her as she released Sakura's hand from her own before climbing on top of the railing, stretching her arms out. Her faded blue jeans torn with holes at the knees and the bottom and around the pocket seams as her pants clung to her legs as her as her plaid shirt whipped in the wind, held closed by two buttons across her chest but revealing her stomach and lower half of her breasts.

The vision blurred. Sakura was crying as she frantically reached out and grabbed her mother's arm with both hands and jerked her down, only to have her mother turn on her and slap her face with brute force, sending Sakura stumbling back.

"Don't you dare stop me! Or I swear! I'll drag you to Hell with me!" she yelled furiously at her daughter before grabbing the railing with one hand to steady herself.

"Mom! Don't leave me! I don't want you to go! I don't want to be alone! Don't go! Don't leave me alone!!" I heard Sakura yell then scream frantically, scared out of her wits.

A sorrowful smile appeared on the mother's face before she reached out gently, taking Sakura's face in her hands, then kissing her tears lovingly.

"You wont leave me here... will you?" came Sakura's weak voice.

Arms lovingly enfolded Sakura as the woman held her to her chest, kissing the side of her head, quieting Sakura's sobs.

"Shh... don't cry, Sakura. Don't cry. I hate it when you cry."

"If I don't cry, will you stay with me? I don't want to be alone..."

But no answer came from her mother, reviving the fear within Sakura.

"Mom...?" she whispered.

Suddenly something wet hit Sakura's neck. Her mother was crying.

"Mom? What's wrong? You can tell me. You can tell me anything. I promise I wont laugh..."

"Sakura... I love you so much. Please... take care of your father for me."

Sakura's eyes widened at sudden realization as she was violently thrown away from her mother, sending her stumbling then falling a few yards away. Sakura scrambled to her feet, her scrapes unnoticed, as she got up in time to see her mother throw herself over the railing.

"MOM!!!" she screamed.

Then the vision vanished.

I had seen all this within mere seconds, as if the thought of it made her mind race, unable to forget it, but wanting to avoid seeing it. I felt my gaze soften as I looked down and for the first time noticed a near invisible bruise on her cheek where she had been slapped before she continued.

"Dad misses mom so much and he hurts a lot. Some times I hear crashing noises come from behind his door. I hear him crying and yelling... at himself I think. And when he comes out, his hair is messy and he's sweaty with red eyes from crying. And when he sees me, he turns away, as if the sight of me makes him sad. So I came here so he wouldn't have to be sad again."

I could tell she was trying her best not to cry in front of me. I couldn't help but pity her... the poor creature.

She suddenly gave me a shaky smile as she reached out and took my hand in hers, shocking me slightly. Her smile became more confident and strong.

"Will you stay and play with me?"

I was taken aback by the question. Never has a mortal ever asked for me to join them in some activity. I would usually only allow myself to join them in their conversation if it fancied my interest.

She looked so hopeful with her large eyes and childish grin. Deciding it was the least I could do for her before ending her life, which was the furthest from my mind now, I agreed. Not sure what to expect though.

Hours had passed as we busied ourselves, pretending to play detective. I the murderer (which I found comical) and she the detective. Using my intellect and wit, I created many scenarios of murders, most which I had done during the previous years from the hunt, and she had to figure them out with the clues I left. Aside from her childish nature, she was quite brilliant. She solved the cases I presented to her quickly. It caused me to believe the state of her mentality, present in her words and actions, were merely an act. But I caught no sign of it what so ever. Afterwards, we crawled around, looking for anything edible for her pet mouse, whom struggled to get out of her skirt pocket but was simply to small for the big task. We managed to gather a few black berries, some of which she ate herself.

I learned that she was fond of the works of Shakespeare. Especially _Hamlet_ and _Othello_. Both which were tragedies by the way.

We were rapt up in conversation about old wars and books as we sat on the cliff that looked over the sea, with deadly rocks and sea water below, when I had begun to notice the brightening morning sky.

I stood, and she followed. She took both of my hands in hers as she shook them excitedly.

"Oh oh! I know what we can do now! Let's act out a scene from _Hamlet_! Well, what scene would decide our roles, of course, but which one to pick? Should it be at the end where Hamlet sword fights and dies? Or when he finds out his love is dead? Well, that one might be a bit too dramatic, seeing how we've just met and all but how about --"

I silenced her with a finger on her soft lips. She looked up, a little startled by the action. Her brow furrowed with concern.

"What is it?" she asked very quietly, as if I was going to tell her a secret of sorts.

I sighed and gave her a tired smile.

"It's nearly morning. Look." I pointed out towards the horizon over the sea. "The sun is rising. I think we've 'played' enough for one night, and im very tired."

She smiled and nodded. She dropped my hands so she could clutch at her dress as she made a little bow. She beamed up at me.

"I don't ever remember having this much fun! Will you come play with me again?"

I couldn't help but smile at the innocent question.

"Yes, of course."

"Yay!" she cheered, as she leapt up in joy. I had to restrain myself from smiling more broadly than I already was. She still hadn't seen my fangs yet, and if she did now, it might put her in doubt. Or so I thought.

"Let's meet here from now on, ok?"

I nodded silently.

"And let's act out a scene from _Hamlet_ tomorrow, ok?"

"Perhaps, my dear." I said quietly, my attention on the lightening sky, causing my eyes to burn slightly. I had to leave, there was no more time for delays.

And without waiting to say or hear a goodbye, I vanished from her sight, in a rush to get back to my coffin, my skin beginning to tingle.

I had reached the cemetery soon enough and found myself climbing into the stone sarcophagi and then pulling the heavy stone lid over me. My hunger forgotten but replaced with a feeling I hadn't felt since my mortal years. Instead of dreading the regular routine I had done for years of waking simply to feed, I think I was actually looking forward to tomorrow night.


	2. Light of Revelation

Birdcage

::2::

::Light of Revelation::

Now, allow me to go into a little depth about this darkness that I had mentioned of before, since I probably didn't make it quite as evident as I had hoped I would.

Vampires are lonely creatures. When we are made we usually stay with our creators for a period of time. Normally until we come to hate them for what they've made us become. A fledgling might stay with his creator as his pupil anywhere from mere months to decades, if not longer. But always in the end, these relationships never last. At least from what I've seen.

I, myself, stayed with my creator for nearly two years until one night I decided I was tired of doing things his way. I simply got up and walked out and never returned. How it came about, I will tell you... eventually. But enough of my creator. More of the darkness as I was saying.

We, all vampires, live solitary lives for most of our existence. Some grow attached to humans, but always from afar. And while their love grows for these beings, the thought of turning them begins to nag at ones mind, but is swiftly dismissed once the memory of what happened to them and their master crosses their minds. They don't want them to hate them and turn away. So they simply watch until that person dies, or until they lose interest or simply force themselves away. And as for those that are chosen to become children of the moon, if it is not them that lose interest in their masters then it is vice versa. Some can't stand the beings they create, seeing the simple human beauty, the beauty that had attracted them in the first place, destroyed once they become immortal. So they simply abandon them.

As for those that find other vampires and desire them to become their companions, these relations can only last for so long until they would feel the urge to part ways and roam the road of life alone once again. They might find one another at some point in time and once again become companions of darkness, but it would always end the same.

My love for the humans is great. There have been times when I thought I had found one that I would make mine. One such as myself. But in the end I would always walk away, if I didn't kill them. Not once had I shared the gift of immortality with another. But if I had, it would have been the girl in my story. Now im jumping ahead.

Now that that's been explained a bit more clearly, I will continue where I left off. Im sure you're growing impatient now, and I beg you to forgive me. Without further ado, let us continue.

The following night, I had picked off a middle aged man, possibly in his forties, to become my next victim.

He was big-boned, weighing around two hundred or so with a head of thin ash brown hair, thinning and with the receding hair line. His eyes were a dull brown with slight wrinkles at the corners of his eyes. Hands decorated with thick gold rings with gems embedded into them and his light tan suit, he looked to be quite the big shot.

It was easy enough to lure him out of the crowd in the busy street, a street which I rarely hunted on simply because of the number of people crowding the walkways and cars zooming by on the road. This street was far from my normal hunting grounds, but I knew it well enough, having walked it amongst these humans several times.

It was a busy street full of life.

Deliberately I had sent a message to him through my mind to his, but not evident enough for him actually hear it. More like whispering suggestions into his head, nagging him to come and investigate the shadowed alley I occupied.

When he had finally given into the voice, I had quickly restrained the large man from behind and sunk my teeth into him, forcing him to the ground as I did this.

He was shocked, if not afraid, as soon as I had grabbed hold of him. By the time he was laying on his front he had realized I was no mere human but rather a demon of sorts, and he began to whisper fiercely to me.

"Vile thing! Get off of me this instant!"

He struggled against my grip, trying to kick me with his heel, but his leg too weighed down and weak from the little extra fat he had gained over the years.

"My God! Do you plan to _kill_ me here?! Do you think someone wont find my corpse rotting in this alley?! You'll be all over the 6 o'clock news by tomorrow night, I assure you!"

Of course I didn't answer. I knew there was nothing he could do nor anyone else for that matter. But I let him ramble away the last minutes of his life anyways, too intoxicated by the rich flavor and thickness of his blood mixed with his cologne of spices. Ah, such bliss!

"Others will know im missing! I have family, dammit! They'll report me missing by tonight!"

I continued to ignore him as I drank deeply.

"You'll go to Hell for this, you foul demon! Even God wont forgive you!" He gasped out, his heart beginning to slow. Annoyed slightly, I began to retort back, still letting my mouth fill with his blood as I spoke:

"_This_ is Hell, fool! There is no room in Heaven for the damned and holy alike, so stop your rambling you stupid human and start praying to your God for forgiveness, for these are your last moments on Earth!"

Precious blood was now leaking down my chin from my exchange of words. Upset at the waste, I applied more pressure to his back, causing him to gasp sharply for oxygen. He suddenly picked up from where he had left off.

"I already have a place waiting for me in Heaven, it is you who should be praying to God!"

"Shut-up."

I was tired of listening to his nonsense. I applied even more pressure, hoping it would silence him, but to no avail.

"Your soul is damned! I may be at your mercy now, but it will be you who is at the mercy of the Devil himself when you depart from this Earth!"

"I said shut-up!"

More blood was dripping down my chin now. More wasted blood. He was now beginning to infuriate me.

"Repent you foul monster! There may still be hope for a lesser punishment in Hell for your deeds if you repent! If not, Hell will make you howl in agony, pain, and misery and you'll have to spend all eternity there! Eternity damn you!"

"I said _SHUT-UP_ you damned idiot!"

Instead of letting the blood be pumped into my gently sucking mouth by his heart, I suddenly latched onto the vein with my teeth without realization and began to suck fiercely, resulting in the rupturing of his heart. Realizing I had just killed him unnecessarily quickly, I released his wrists from behind, letting them fall to his sides.

I stared down upon his frozen face of shock mixed with sudden pain and scowled with discontent before reaching down and hefting him up and partly over my shoulder, his bulk too big to rest fully on me. Well, now was the best time to be rid of this body, I had decided, and was quickly off and away to incinerate it.

I had pulled all of the money from his wallet before I placed my parting kiss on his cheek and lighting him to be consumed by the fire, and headed off to find the odd girl from the previous night. Sakura.

It took only a minute or two to reach the place where we had met the pervious night. Perhaps I would ease her pain before I finally took her. And maybe I would do it tonight.

I saw her off a distance from the rotting trunk overrun with moss. She was standing there idly, looking up at the stars before she finally took notice of me. She smiled widely, showing off her perfect white teeth, before running up to me. This time she wore a light blue shirt with darker blue stripes that made up the upper half but grew thinner as they moved towards the bottom until they disappeared into the lighter color. It gently sloped out like a dress but stopped at her thighs, the sleeves reaching her elbows and below it a pair of white pants that stopped just below her knees. She wore a pair of leather sandals on her small feet.

"You came you came!" she exclaimed joyously, bouncing about. I only quirked an eyebrow.

"I was worried you wouldn't come, and the thought of it made me sad."

"And why wouldn't I keep my promise?" I asked, my tone a little sharp. I was still a little disgruntled from my meal.

Her smile vanished and was replaced with wonderment.

"What's wrong? You don't seem happy... you can tell me, I promise I wont laugh."

There it was again. The promises. How simple they were. Suddenly I saw the vision of her and her mother together at the bridge. The vision I had stolen from her during the previous night. I felt a small twinge.

"It's nothing."

"Are you sure? You can tell me anything."

How comforting. Yet how could she understand if I had told her?

"It's nothing. If I told you it would only confuse you."

"Ok. But if you ever need to speak to someone, I'll be here. Remember, ok?"

She flashed me a smile in reassurance of her sureness. I only stared at her, unconsciously examining her features. How soft her skin looked. As if it had a will of its own, my hand reached up and touched her cheek. I saw her physically stiffen, eyes staring at my cold white hand, confused and shocked.

"Soft... warm." I found myself muttering. How I envied humans for their natural warmth. I could only obtain it by draining dry a human of his blood. And that would only warm me for nearly half an hour, if not less.

Another thing about vampires. Those that choose to live as humans do, in houses that is (usually large and expensive homes), could normally be found by a fire place, warming themselves. The warmth was something we always enjoyed. Some would even go so far as to soak themselves in a hot bath, as a human would, though it would do little for them but wash away an invisible film of dust we usually wore. Possibly give them a short lived fragrance as well, if shampoos and herbs were used. I must admit that I had done this a few times myself, and found it very comforting and relaxing, as I had when I was alive.

I let my arm drop back to my side and watched her relax before grinning up at me.

"Will you come with me to my mother's grave? They buried her today in the Country Ridge cemetery. I would have went myself, but..."

She began to turn red in the cheeks as she looked away in what looked to be shame.

"But what, my dear?"

"... Im... a little scared."

"Of what? Monsters? Zombies?" I chuckled. I watched as she turned even more red with embarrassment.

"Ghosts."

"_Ghosts_? There are no ghosts there that can harm you, my dear."

"I know..." she mumbled. "But brother once said he saw them with their heads in their arms, or some were deformed and scary looking..."

Another brief vision. This time it was of a boy around ten with messy black hair and fierce eyes and tanned skin, holding her hand. She must have been around six or seven at that time. They stood at the gates of a cemetery. It was during the day.

"They're everywhere, no matter where you are, Sakura. But the scariest are in the cemeteries, guarding their graves. Some missing arms or legs, some carrying their heads. Some oozing with slime. And if you go in alone, then one might..."

Sakura was shaking all over as she looked up at her older brother.

"One might what?" she mumbled, unsure if she wanted to know the rest.

He leaned down to her ear, eyes widening.

"_Possess your body_!" he whispered.

The small Sakura yelped in fright as her brother stood up and began to laugh at his little joke. It was obvious to me he was only 'pulling her leg', so to speak. But it was enough to scare her for life.

She pouted, furrowing her eyebrows as she gave him good swift kick to the shin. He yelped out in pain.

"I hate you! That's not funny!" she screamed at him. But even though she knew he was joking, it had apparently made an impression upon her.

The vision ended.

I watched her brush away a long lock of stray hair resting on her shoulder. She looked up at me expectantly.

"Alright. I'll escort you there. But why so soon if you had just been there today?"

She frowned.

"Dad said I wasn't allowed to go."

"But why? Didn't he want you to see your mother one last time?" I asked, more to myself than to her. I was cross at the idea of not allowing a child to see their parent for the last time before being, to put it gently, put to rest.

She didn't answer, but I heard her ask herself silently in her mind, "Why didn't he? Maybe he's angry at me again...". It made me wonder what she meant by 'again'. But I wouldn't dare ask, lest I reveal this mind reading ability all immortals were gifted with.

"You'll have to show me the way for I do now know which cemetery you speak of."

She reached out, not quite as bold as last night, and grabbed my hand. Her hand was very warm to the touch and I couldn't help but revel in the feeling. She began to lead me out of the field.

I was shocked to find myself standing at the gates of the cemetery where I slept. I had never paid any attention to the name of it: Country Ridge.

So this was where her mother was buried. How ironic.

I followed her in. I could see she was nervous. We didn't make it very far in before she stopped mid-step and looked back at me.

"I forgot... I don't know where it is..." she blushed again but didn't look away in shame this time.

I smiled.

"Don't worry about it." I said to reassure her. I stepped up beside her.

"We'll just have to hunt for it. Think of it as another _game_." I smiled down at her as she stared up towards me, a smile creeping up onto her soft pink lips.

"Ok, But let's go together... I don't want to get separated." she said in a small voice. I simply nodded before taking the lead this time and she flanking me.

We started with the graves closest to us, though I knew they wouldn't be here. These were some of the first to be buried here, but we started here none the less and began to weave through row after row of graves. We were near my own when we had stumbled across a few with the last name 'Li' on their headstones.

"Were they your relatives?" Sakura had asked me.

"Don't know. Never met them." I had mumbled back before continuing our search. So there were other Li's here. At least it wasn't my obnoxious cousin. She was probably prowling around England now, searching for me...

I noticed that Sakura had stopped in front of a grave and knelt down at it. I walked up to her. But there were two with the last names 'Kinomoto' engraved on them.

"I should have known it would've been here..." she mumbled to herself. I knelt down beside her and read the name.

"Nadesico Kinomoto... but who's is that?" I asked, as I pointed to the one off to the left of me. Without turning her gaze to look at the other one beside her mother's grave she said, "Touya Kinomoto, my brother..."

I was speechless. So not only has she suffered the loss of her mother, but her brother as well. The date on his grave read '1987-2004'. I looked over to her mothers. It read '1969-2006'. Without warning, she spoke up.

"My mother was still in high school when she gave birth to my brother... no one had known she was pregnant. They just thought she had put on a few pounds, but it wasn't really noticeable. When Touya was born, her family disowned her, but she didn't care. She made enough money from modeling, then when she graduated, she married my dad. Touya was my dad's child as well as my mothers, so it wasn't some random guy who got my mom pregnant. My mom met my dad at school. He was a young teacher, just starting his second year of teaching. He once told me it was love at first sight for both of them... He always took care of my mom... Later it was the same with me as my brother. No one really knew she was pregnant again. Not even dad. Mom knew, but she didn't tell anyone... she was always like that. Secretive that is. She even prepared a name for me without my dad's help... but I don't think he minded..."

She sighed as she stared at the inscribed words in the marble stone in front of her. I watched the wind gently move her locks of long hair into her face before she brushed them back again and behind her.

"But when Touya died, I think a part of mom did too... she began to drown her troubles in alcohol, maybe something else too, but I don't know what. At the end of each day, I remember watching her swallow two or three aspirins, as if the whole world was giving her a headache. She began to avoid me, every now and then she'd take me to the park or the mall to shop with her. But most of the time she didn't even want to be around me. I think she was ashamed to be seen in the never ending state she was in. Wanting to stop but too miserable and sad to stop. I think the only thing that came close to making her feel better was my dad, but he was being sent off on archaeological trips more and more often, and for weeks at a time. And during that time mom drank the heaviest and sometimes didn't come home for several days at a time..."

She sighed again as if she was out of breath and needed more air to go on.

"I just hope she's in Heaven now... finally able to rest. Someday I'll be there too..."

The words from the dead man I had incinerated that night returned to me, echoing through my mind.

_'I already have a place waiting for me in Heaven, it is you who should be praying to God!'_

Uncomfortable with the tense silence that had ensued between us, I got up and walked a few yards off. I glanced over my shoulder and saw her kneeling in prayer before I fixed my gaze at my sarcophagi some ways off, surrounded by seven white with grey swirled in marble pillars with a marble roof above it... I never thought about it until now, but what kind of person were they? The person who had previous occupied my grave before being scooped out and disposed of by me? Obviously they were rich to have paid for the unique grave that stood out like a sore thumb amongst the rest... did they ever make it to Heaven? Were they dragged down into Hell? Maybe I'd meet them down there some day to suffer with them. Maybe they would want revenge for my violation of their grave...

I felt a hand on my arm and I looked down to see Sakura standing there, looking up sadly into my eyes. This child here would make it to Heaven, if there was a Heaven. Of that I was certain. As for me, I knew where my future was headed. Poor child, hoping, wishing that her mother were in a restful place full of light and joy and happiness... If anything I knew about holy scripture was true, then her mother's soul was lost. Even her mother knew it when she had threaten to take her own daughter to Hell with her if she interrupted her again.

"Are you ok? You have that look on your face again... Are you sad or upset about something? Im here and listening..."

I patted her hand in reassurance.

"Nothings wrong, im just thinking about what someone had said to me before they died..."

"What did they say?"

I smiled gently at her. How could one be so kind and sympathetic towards a monster such as myself?

"Nothing. Nothing important that is. Now come, let's leave this place of death and go to some place where there is more life."

She nodded, face still in a sad expression.

We had found ourselves back in the field. I sighed in exasperation of myself.

"So much for 'more life'..." I grumbled.

She smiled as her gaze was fixated on something in the distance. I followed her gaze and saw a ship off in the distance, only visible from the glow of the nearby light house.

"It's alright. It's not as if we have anywhere else to go."

She walked to the cliff where we had sat on before I made my departure. She seated herself there and I followed but didn't take a seat on the hard ground until she told me to sit there next to her. I obeyed willingly but added enough space between us so we didn't brush up against each other. We sat there quietly, listening to the sea crash against the half submerged rocks below, the night birds chirping every now and then. The silence was broken by her after a few minutes.

"You know more about me than you're letting on, aren't you?"

I kept my gaze fixed on the departing ship, growing smaller as it sailed further and further away into the horizon. My silence confirmed her hunch, feeling, whatever it was that told her these things.

"What about you?"

Without looking away from the sea I asked, "What do you mean?"

I glanced at her from the corner of my eye. She looked thoughtful for a moment, then, "I mean what about you? You know about me, or at least part of me, and I know next to nothing of you, except that you're as pale as the moon and cold like ice and can disappear suddenly on a whim..."

I stretched my arms before folding them behind my head and falling back on the ground to look at the stars, exhaling as I went.

"Why do you ask? Who I am is not important and it's boring..."

She didn't answer. I decided to be kind enough to tell her about my family... or what was my family.

"My mother and father were chinese. My father died when I was young so I don't remember much about him, except that he was one of the greatest fighters in my clan before he passed away. I had three older sisters and a countless number of cousins, only one I was ever close to, but left her eventually. Her name is Meilin."

"Why'd you leave her?"

"She was annoying. Firstly she was always talking about marriage, and she was always tagging along. Then came her constant suggestions and demands which finally drove me away."

"Oh..." She pulled her legs up to her chest as she hugged them close, her gaze directed towards me.

"And what happened to your family?"

"Why do you want to know?" I was growing slightly uneasy with these questions.

"You speak of them in the past tense."

I mentally slapped myself. I had slipped.

"I don't know. I ran away when I was younger and never went back." I spoke quickly. And it was true, well, partly anyways. More like abducted by a vampire though.

"Why'd you run away?"

I sighed in exasperation.

"I don't believe that's any of your business." I snapped, but she only grinned at my harsh words.

"Was it a girl?" There was mirth in her voice.

I was taken aback. A girl? Well, I guess that did seem logical, since most of the runaway cases were based around love, family problems, and drugs these days.

"Far from it." I mumbled lazily. I watched a shooting star fly over our heads and followed it with my vampiric vision before it disappeared over my head and beyond my vision.

Her warm hand had found its way to my face. I looked in her direction to see she had moved towards me but stopped before her knees touched my arm.

"What are you doing?" I asked as I felt her hand move down my cheek and over my lips. Suddenly I felt her fingers try to pry them open, which caused me to jerk my head away.

"_What the **hell** are you doing_?" I demanded. She frowned and reached out again and I moved away again until I came to a sitting position, now facing her but a bit further from her. She kept advancing and I felt myself move back a little further and still further as she kept moving towards me.

"What are you trying to do?!" I asked frantically before she lurched forward and grabbed me by the upper arm and pulled herself forwards, catching me off guard, her fingers finding my lips again. I tried to pull my head away but to no avail.

"Your teeth." she said innocently. I only stared at her from the corner of my eye, my neck stretched as far as it could away from her.

"I saw them... I saw them yesterday but I thought it was only my imagination until you smiled at me earlier today."

I felt her forefinger make its way into my mouth and brush against my fangs. So she would know, after all my attempts to keep it a secret until the last moment. Giving in, I relaxed and let her run her fingertip along them. No matter, I'd be rid of her in the end anyways.

I brought my head forwards until I was staring at her, the surprise and fear gone from me. I felt her thumb slip in between my lips before using it and her index finger to part them, my teeth in full view now. No point in trying to hide it now...

"You're a vampire, aren't you?"

I only stared at her. I think I was somewhat glaring at her when she had asked this question.

"Why didn't you kill me earlier? You've had plenty of opportunities since last night, and yet here I am, still alive. What made you avoid killing me?" her voice was soft and melancholic.

Im certain I was glaring at her by now, but simply out of anger at myself. Yes. Why didn't I kill her when I had the chance? Why DID I spare her until now? She should be dead and I warmed by her blood inside of me by now...

"I don't know. Maybe it was your naive fearlessness that caused me to spare you thus far. _Why_? Why ask all these questions? These horrid questions? These pointless, worthless, baffling questions?! _Do you wish for death_? You speak as if you _want_ me to drain you of your life! It makes no sense!"

My sudden outburst didn't even phase her as she dropped her hand that was exploring my teeth. Her blank gaze drifted towards the sea.

"Maybe... I don't know... I guess a part of me wants it. I would have done it myself if I had a good enough reason to urge me to do it... _but im afraid_."

I scowled, still worked up from my last outburst.

"You're a fool. A fool for death." I whispered angrily, her confession also driving me to such words. I didn't understand. I was confused and upset that she would want throw away what I had so yearned for. For life. Not the life of a night walker, but rather the life of a human being. Able to walk in the sun, socially gather, not have to walk in darkness for all of eternity.

I stood abruptly before glaring down at her.

"Don't worry, my dear, you shall have your death soon enough. But it wont be a pleasant one, I can assure you of that!" I hissed, my confusion mixed with my jealousy and anger getting the best of me.

I turned to leave but stopped when I heard her ask,

"Will you meet me here again... tomorrow night? Even if you don't come, I'll wait for you here every night until you do come."

I let the question run through my mind for a brief second but dismissed it for later. And without answering her, I disappeared into the night.


	3. Bird That Sings

Bird Cage

::3::

::Bird That Sings::

After I had stormed off in my confused fury I had found myself lurking amongst the living once again. To quell my inner rage I had began to sloppily kill victim after victim, leaving most of the blood still in them but only to kill them by the breaking of their necks, ripping out their hearts, or something even more ghastly than that. I had done this without really paying much attention to much of anything.

It was around that time I had felt a strange, yet familiar presence in the city. No where near myself, mind you, but somewhere in the city. It was another immortal, but whom, I could not decipher. Only that I had known them at one time or another.

I shrugged it off, telling myself that I would give them the courtesy to hunt in my territory, as long as they stayed away from me. I had no desire to commune with another like myself. Not yet at least.

Other than that, the night was uneventful and I found myself returning to my grave, retreating from the oncoming rays of the morning sun. At least in sleep I could forget everything and remain in a peaceful state of deep slumber. If only life could be as comforting as that...

That night I had dreampt for the first time in years. This usually happened only when I deeply concerned or bothered by something. Unfortunately there had been something nagging at me. A certain girl...

I appeared in the field that I had become familiar with as of late. There was a low fog hanging about me, covering everything around in a thick blanket of white mist. The air was still and humid. Somewhat stagnant.

I took a few paces forward when I heard a voice. Soft, lulling. Droning onwards in a low humming tune. It was slow and melancholic, the emotion expressed from the song clutched my heart and causing an ache within me, a pain of dread and loss. Loss, im not sure exactly of what, but I was about to find out.

As I continued forward, the melody grew steadily stronger in volume, but it was still soft and caressing. I felt myself quicken, yearning to hear more of the luring sound. Then, a figure began to take shape through the mist. It was hunched over something, the frame was small with long strands of hair hiding it's face. Upon closer inspection, I discovered the girl named Sakura sitting before me, dressed in a black dress that flared about her legs and was cinched in the back like a corset with white silk lace, the laced also running along the bottom of her dress. A black ribbon around her head tied in a bow decorated her hair and matched the ribbon she wore on her pale neck.

The fog cleared as I came closer and closer till I stood only a few feet away from her. She continued to hum her sad tune as she busied herself with something on the ground. Her hands moved, picking flowers not far from where she sat, only her arm extending to grab things. The rest of her body still and hunched over something I couldn't see.

I took another step before coming down onto one knee to get a better view. Her humming stopped but she continued to busily work. I tried to peer down into the gap created by her legs where her point of interest was, only her hair was blocking my view now.

"There's always a beginning and an end." came her soft voice. I tried to look at her face through her hair but I was failing. I remained at a loss for words, unsure whether it was appropriate to speak or to remain silent.

I watched as she scooped some dirt into her lap. She continued this act for several moments.

"You liked the song, didn't you?"

I stared at her. Did I? It was lovely, I had to admit, but I wasn't sure if I actually liked it. Not sure if I liked the effect it had brought upon me. The aching and luring effect.

"Most people do. Most are drawn to it, like you. Like most are drawn to you."

I finally spoke up, but with hesitance. "What do you mean, like me?"

Silently she continued to scoop dirt into her lap, packing it down now every time she laid new dirt upon the previously placed.

"I like the song very much. Mother and father and even Touya didn't though. They said it reminded them of the past. Past things they wanted to forget. But it was after Touya died that it came to me more naturally. I began to hum it more often. I think it might have caused mother to go mad..."

She reached out and pulled more flowers around her up from their roots, placing them also in her lap.

"But... no. That's not right." she said, slowly as if she was busy contemplating things.

"It was Touya's death, father's absence, and the drugs that drove her insane." she spoke, as if she were trying to explain it to herself and not I.

"What did you mean earlier when you said, 'like you'?" I asked again.

Her hands finally stopped their work but were folded in a resting position in her lap, her head and back still bent forward as she stared at the ground before her.

"Like a pianist. They strive for the finish, after all, it is why they practice with such diligence and passion. It is the finish where they hear the applause of the audience and the praises and encores. But it is the finish that brings the performance to it's close."

I stared at her, not exactly sure what she was implying upon, but I was slowing getting an idea. A slow but steady dread began to wash over me.

"Do you know why people are drawn to the song?" she asked, my silence following.

"It reminds them of death. And it's only in death where they can find true peace. Like a moth to a flame, the moth is drawn to the beauty of death the fire emits, and it is there where it sacrifices itself to the silence that only death can give. The eternal silence.

You, Syaoran, are like the song itself. You're an embodiment of it. A form that death has taken shape to. You bring people to the end of their long journey on the hard road known as life. You complete the song with your final phrase and bring the performance to it's close. You may deny it all you want, but you know it's true."

I couldn't tear my eyes away from her. What she was saying was true and I knew I didn't want to admit it. I never did want to admit it, but I couldn't deny it.

"You were wondering what I was doing, were you not?" she asked, her voice calm and steady and drawing me away from my thoughts. Thoughts that I avoided as much as possible.

"Silly creature. He was drawn to the song too like his brothers and sisters. He heard it call out to him and he followed it. He saw what happened to his brothers and sisters as they were all drawn to the trap before they were decapitated or cut in half. But he went to it anyways. And now look what it's earned him."

I watched as she moved her legs away, scooting back just enough to allow me to see. And there before me was a small mound of dirt with a cross at the head of it made of two twigs tied together by the stem of a small flower, a small wreath made of small white flowers sitting idly on the tiny grave.

"Poor poor Jumper. At least his death was quick. The trap came down right below the skull, decapitating him like so many of his brethren. But what a mess it made..."

My gaze darted from the small grave to her, suspicion filling me.

"You... you're not Sakura. You couldn't be. She wouldn't speak with such cold and uncaring words like you do. Tell me, who are you and what do you want?" I asked, my voice cold and eye narrowing.

Slowly she looked up, green eyes half covered with drooping eye lids, her face devoid of expression. She looked exactly like Sakura.

"What do you mean? I am Sakura, and always have been. At least, a part of her that she doesn't like to show."

I found myself in a stupor, only able to stare at her as my tongue had receeded into the back of my throat.

"Im the part of her that knew what my mother was planning to do, but she wouldn't accept it. Im the part of her that knew what had happened to Touya when he didn't return home. And im also the one that knows what she desires most."

Slowly she crawled up to me, almost like a child would on all fours. Reaching out, she cupped the side of my face and leaned forward and placing her cheek on mine and her lips almost against my ear as she whispered,

"Complete her song and grant her final wish. Become the angel she prayed for and bring her the peaceful sleep she so desperately yearns for.

_You know you want to kill her_."

I woke with a start, slamming my forehead into the lid of the coffin before falling back onto the soft silk bedding with a moan. I reached up as I brushed my hand through my sweat soaked hair, barely able to do this with the small space above my head available.

'A dream... only a dream. It was only a... a nightmare.' I found myself thinking in an attempt to calm my pounding heart.

Here I was, trying to forget about that damned girl and now she was entering and haunting my dreams! What nerve... Maybe I should get rid of her... but no. That would be giving her what she wanted, at least according to the Sakura in my nightmare.

I took several deep breaths of the musty coffin air within before reaching up and grasping the stone lid, bracing myself for the rush of warm fresh air as I pushed it back.

Day had quickly turned to night and I had risen again for the thousandth time, the previous nights events returning to me, making me uncomfortable. The strange presence was also gone. Maybe they decided to leave, knowing they were intruders and were not welcome here.

I headed out and away from my resting place. I had money from the rich fat man I had killed recently. He had several hundreds and a couple of fifty dollar bills mixed together with countless tens, twenties, fives, and ones.

I had a tendency to sometimes pick the pockets of the dead for the hell of it. Sometimes I would go see a movie on that overcrowded street I rarely hunted on. Other times I would buy a new suit or something similar, deciding that it was time for a change, or if my old clothes had been worn beyond repair (though I never did take the time to repair them.). And every now and then I'd stroll into a late night restaurant and order the most expensive dish on the menu but wouldn't touch a morsel of it. I did it simply to watch and listen to the people around me. Or to keep an eye on the victim I was stalking.

That night I had unconsciously wandered into a park somewhere between that busy street and the place where I'd slept. I flopped ungracefully onto a bench with a light post off some ways, making me only visible from its distant glow.

I watched couples, hand in hand, stroll around the area, whispering sweet things to each other, laughing at private jokes, sharing brief kisses on the cheek or lips. So simple were their gestures. But if they had known that death was so close...

I stopped.

_St. Michael_

It rang through my head like a church bell. Repeatedly and constant without skipping a beat.

These mortals didn't even know what I was or what I was capable of... or that I was even there. Was that how it was back during the ancient days of Egypt? When death had swept down upon every home, every child? Every parent? All ignorant of the fact that they were going to die on that fateful night by the hand of one of God's angels?

I searched the faces of each individual within my sight, searching for acknowledgment that their time might come to an end and by my hand? That _I_ might be the one to complete their song? I could only shudder at the thought.

I scoffed at myself. Of course they didn't know. No one ever knew. I suddenly felt very silly for the over dramatic thought. Of course they couldn't, wouldn't know.

_"You're like St. Michael. The archangel that descended upon Egypt to claim every first born. Except you don't target just the first born, right?"_

Her words ran through me. I was suddenly cringing and running my hands through my hair. How had I become this _thing_ in the first place? I should have listened to mother that day... I shouldn't have left the house to catch that stupid bird for Meilin. I should have listened to my gut feeling, telling me not to go, that there was something out there, waiting.

How was I supposed to know that vampires weren't just a fairy tale told to scare innocent children to stay indoors at night? Besides, wasn't the night always associated with evil?

I ran my hand over my face but not pulling it away. I was now looking at the ground between my feet.

I had sworn that the killing without justice was a crime that I would never commit... and yet here I am, killing night after night just to sustain my own existence?

I sighed bitterly before leaning back, letting my head hang over the top of the bench. Best not think about it... it was something that always angered me.

I heard a small child walk by with her father. She was small, around ten. She was talking.

"Daddy, why is mommy in the hospital? She said we were going to the festival tomorrow and that we were going to go shopping for my kimono today..."

"Sweetie, mommy's not feeling well. Mommy is very sick and needs the doctors to make her feel better." his voice was hallow and empty.

Out of habit I reached into his mind. Images upon images of white halls, men and women clad in white, the site of people being rolled to one room then to another on beds, and the stench of death lingering everywhere... then a doctor speaking.

_"Three broken ribs and a cracked spine, sever damage to her skull and internal bleeding. She wont last longer than a day or so, but we'll keep trying..."_

Those words brought forth others. Images of a certain violet haired woman, throwing herself over a bridge.

_**Please stop. No more. No more of this madness of pain and loss and death! Just leave me alone!**_

_"Why didn't you kill me earlier? You've had plenty of opportunities since last night, and yet here I am, still alive. What made you avoid killing me?"_

_**STOP! Leave me the hell alone!**_

_"Maybe... I don't know... I guess a part of me wants it. I would have done it myself if I had a good enough reason to urge me to do it... _but im afraid_."_

I had broken into a cold sweat. It seemed that everywhere I went, so did the thought of her and her haunting words. What was going on with me?

I brushed my hair back before slapping myself, trying to get a grip on my sanity...

You're just delusional because you haven't drank yet... yes, that has to be it. Has to be the reason why I keep thinking of these things...

But I knew I was lying to myself.. I had gorged myself on blood the night before to the point of throwing up and the effects of hunger weren't even present. But I was willing to do anything to get that girl out of my head. I would resist with every fiber of my being from giving in to go to her and rip her to pieces.

I was mad, possibly obsessed. Obsessed with my questions, with death, and that damned girl and her words and wishes for death. They had an effect on me like a virus. Spreading and growing...

I spotted a young runaway boy carefully sifting through the trash, hidden in shadow and out of the sight of passing people. It wasn't my style to take the life of children, but I was desperate for a scape goat from reality. Reality that I had become the thing I swore I would never become and haunted by the image of that girl.

Inhuman speed allowed me to cross the distance between me and the boy within the blink of an eye. He was still digging when I appeared silently behind him. Words. I needed words. Something to grab his attention... make the kill more graceful....

Nothing came.

I had found myself on him within a second, clamping my hand over his mouth to silence his high pitched boyish screams as I pierced the flesh of his neck with my teeth. I drank and drank, feeling him grow weaker with every passing second, his blood rich and flowing into my mouth as I licked the wound with my tongue now and then, hoping to forget the world and it's horrors around me... hoping to forget myself and what I was.

It was blissful, this young blood. Never had I tasted something as fresh as this. It was like a new experience for me. Sweet is what it was... like thick rich honey.

I had drank and drank, even when I had already killed the poor boy, drawing the blood by my fierce sucking until he was nearly completely dry. But when I had pulled up, the sensation fading, those green eyes and auburn hair returned, just like a never ceasing nightmare.

"Dammit all...." I mumbled to myself as I reached down and lifted the dead body into my arms, cradling it as if it were still alive. I was disgusted with myself how I had taken a life so young and without thought or much remorse. But I had to get rid of the body none the less.

I had reached the place where I usually burned my victims bodies and there I had let this one burn as well. I watched the flames lick the body, the smell of burnt flesh wafting through the still air. Another killed by me... will the cycle ever end?

Then came her girlish smile to my mind again. The memory of her warm soft cheek on my hand. And the thought of killing her. Yes, the reason I had left in such a rush yesterday.

I knew now that no matter what I did, she would never leave me alone. I had to do something.

I laughed quietly to myself. I had only seen her twice and now I was reduced to this confused, lost little stray. No where or person to go to, except for her. I had to do something. I had to see her. Had to kill her or myself... anything to get these damned images out of my head.

Giving in, I decided that yes, I would go and visit her again. It was nearly two in the morn and I had decided that I had resisted long enough.

The field that I had become so familiar with during the past two days stood before me. The same field in my dream. I walked in deeper, expecting to see that girlish figure with the long flowing hair and big green eyes... but I saw nothing. My eyes came to the decaying tree trunk where she usually stood, but she wasn't there. Eyes wandering, they came to the cliff where we had sat. There, too, was vacant of her presence.

I strolled further into the place, inspecting the area, hoping to find her lying down somewhere amongst the wheat and grass. But she was no where to be seen.

Had something happened to her? Did she decide she was tired of waiting and went home? Did she even bother to show up in the first place? Or... did my words to her frighten her?

I took a seat on the cliff where we had been before I had left her in a daze. I looked out over the ocean, the salty breeze sifting through my hair. Where could she be?

I had sat there for well over an hour, hoping she would show up, but my hope quickly fading. By the time I was on the verge of leaving, I heard a twig snap behind me a few yards off.

I didn't move, but simply stayed where I was, watching her make her way to me... but something about her was wrong. Something... disturbing?

She walked up next to me before sitting, and that's when I saw it.

Her long silky locks of hair had been cut off, her hair now reaching a little above her shoulders, ends uneven and choppy, as if someone had taken a machete to it.

She stared at the sea, eyes avoiding my questioning ones. She wore the same torn night gown she had worn on our first encounter. I couldn't help but notice how it had snagged a few more twigs, just like before.

All thoughts of killing her had vanished. I knew now that during the past two days, I had discovered a mortal company that would be impossible to replace, and killing her would be killing it as well.

I looked to her face, noticed that her gaze didn't waver from her cold stare. I then noticed her red eyes. Red from crying, I suppose.

My gaze followed hers, out into the sea. I was uncertain if it was the right thing to ask what had happened.

"Nothing happened."

I looked at her in surprise. It was as if she had heard my silent uncertain question.

But then came the images like before. A vision.

I saw the morning light through her eyes. She stood at her door. It was a deep red. Next I saw a room. Living room of the house. Broken chairs lay about along with a shattered television, broken glass from glass figurines, porclean fragments scattered about the floor, books and their torn destroyed pages strewn everywhere... the only thing untouched was the leather sofa backed up against a wall. It was quiet. Not even the sound of her foot steps could be heard. The vision was silent, and jerky, like an old black and white film eaten partly by moths or burned away from the projection light, but with color. Scenes appeared and quickly shifted to the next, leaving gaps between the images.

Next I saw a man, his hair near the color of Sakura's. His hair was ragged, messed up and needed grooming, his white button-up shirt wrinkled and probably dirty.

He had his back to Sakura at first, then turned to face her. He was still for a brief second before advancing on Sakura, his face wild, anger evident in his stride as he closed the gap between them.

I saw his hand raise, the next scene that followed showed Sakura stumbling back before crashing against the door. Though I hadn't seen him do it, I knew he had hit her hard in the face.

I felt her fear and confusion as she looked up. He was yelling at her, but I couldn't hear what he was saying. He reached down and shook her roughly, still yelling all the while, then reached for her hair, grabbing it violently before jerking her to her feet then dragging her by her hair into the kitchen.

He had reached for the nearest knife. She was now screaming and fighting to get away. She tried to loosen herself from his grip but was failing. She couldn't see what he was doing, all she had seen was the knife and then only the floor her feet stood on. Then she began to feel the agonizing pull from the knife on her hair, shredding it to pieces...

When it was over, she was backing away from the man, terrified as she saw him throw down the knife before leaning over the counter where he had cut her hair. He dropped his elbows there as he buried his face in his hands. Most likely ashamed.

She didn't bother with glancing back as she began to run up the stairs and into her room, before locking the door.

The vision ended.

I looked at her blank face, staring straight ahead.

"It was your father, wasn't it?" I asked.

She didn't answer, but only continued to stare.

I carefully reached up and took a few strands of her hair between my fingers. She didn't care. She didn't even flinch at my touch.

I ran my hand over the areas where it had been cut. Her hair was a mess.

"It wasn't his fault..." she said quietly.

I looked at her. How could that be? What made her say that it wasn't his fault? Firstly he had assaulted her then savagely ruined her beautiful hair...

She pulled her legs up to her chest and proceeded to hug them before shifting her gaze from the sea and to my face. I released her hair.

"He misses mom a lot... he said that I looked like mom with my long hair. So he cut it. Said it was too stressful to look at me with my hair long like hers..."

I didn't say anything. I wasn't sure what to do. I could tell she was still afraid from the mornings fight with her father. I knew she had stayed in her room all day and didn't dare to come out, afraid of what might happen if she did.

She continued to stare at me, unnerving me a little.

"Sorry..." she mumbled up at me. I was baffled. Sorry? Sorry for what?

"For making you wait..."

She must have knew what I was thinking by the expression on my face, though I don't know what I must have looked like.

"I had to wait until dad fell asleep... he was mad when I came home. He knew I was out all night..."

"All night?"

"Mm... after you left I stayed here until dawn."

An uncomfortable silence had befallen us as we watched the lulling waves of the ocean. Suddenly she reached into her pocket and pulled out a small mouse.

It was her pet mouse, Jumper. The same Jumper that appeared in my dream, or rather the grave of him. It was probably best not to mention this to Sakura.

"He wanted to come too. He doesn't like being home by himself."

I reached out and pat it's head with my finger as gently as I could without hurting him. He simply twitched his whiskers as he attempted to crawl out of her hand. She quickly covered him with her other hand so he couldn't escape.

Then from the deepest regions of my mind I heard that haunting melody return to me. I felt my heart clench at the thought of it as I tried to shake it off. Sudden I heard her speak.

"Tomorrow there's going to be a festival."

"So I've heard." I simply replied.

"Are you going?" she asked, her eyes still on her cupped hands where her pet mouse was.

"I don't have a reason to. Festivals are events held for the living."

She looked up at me, eyes sympathetic almost, causing me to wince. I didn't like that look. That look of pity. I hated it, and always had.

"I used to go with my cousin Tomoyo, until she moved. Her mother owns a Toy company but her mother had moved it when they raised the taxes. That was over a year ago now... I haven't been since."

Slowly she made a small opening to peer down into at her mouse before he jammed his nose into it, struggling to squirm through it. Sakura opened her hands and let the small creature crawl about and down her arm before she snatched it up again, cradling it gently within her grasp.

I couldn't help but smile at the simple action.

"Will you go with me to the festival? I mean, you don't have to if you don't want to."

I let the question run through my thoughts for a few moments. It wasn't a bad idea. After all, there was no where special I was required to be. There never was. Not only that but it would be something to pass the time with. Perhaps it wouldn't be so bad...

"I guess I don't see why not. But I don't have a Kimono." I stated bluntly.

She stared up at me a little wide eyed, surprised. She then smiled happily up at me, her earlier ordeal forgotten apparently.

"That's ok! I don't have one either. Well, I do but it doesn't fit me anymore. But it doesn't matter. Lots of people go without wearing Kimono's! I admit, they're nice to have but that's all. Just nice. It's not like they're really important."

I smiled. It was cute how she would keep going on and on like that, even though sometimes it was annoying...

Without warning, she stood up. I stared up at her in confusion.

"Thanks for saying you'll come with me. I wasn't going to go unless someone would come too. Doing things alone is very fun and I want to have as much fun as possible!"

She bent down and unexpectedly gave me a hug, startling me a bit.

"Thank you. It means a lot to me." she said softly before letting me go. I felt suddenly very confused.

"I have to go now."

"Already?" I asked, a little disappointed. She nodded.

"Dad is leaving for a flight in two hours and I don't want to be caught being out again. Im not sure if he'll be ok, since he's still upset about mom's death. But I need to be there. For him at least. I hope you understand."

I nodded.

"Meet here tomorrow night?" I asked quickly.

She nodded and smiled, running off as she shouted, "Always!" and waved goodbye.

I stood to get a better view of her retreating figure. We had barely talked yet I felt like we had been sitting there for ages. I dusted my pants off as I watched her finally fade into the distance. For some reason my heart didn't feel as heavy as it was earlier but more light than anything else.

So tomorrow we were going to go to a festival. I had been to one festival before here in Japan. I think it was called the Sakura festival... I don't quite recall, but there were so many people wearing Kimono's. Perhaps I would get Sakura a little something before we went to the event.

Anyhow, I was looking forward to tomorrow night's events.


	4. Liquid Sunshine In the Eventide

Birdcage

:4:

:Liquid Sunshine In the Eventide:

I didn't bother with feeding the following night, my thoughts too directed at another event. The Festival. I knew it had a name, but me, being the unsocial vampire that I was, had avoided such activities and events. Mostly out of fear of being discovered when I was a young vampire. Now, mostly because I had never a reason to. But now, now was different. I had a reason to go.

I had awoken just a little earlier than I normally did, hoping to find a kimono shop nearby before they had all closed down for the night. I had lucked out, fortunately. I had made it to a shop that was on the verge of closing in a mere ten minutes. Unfortunately for them, I had a hard time picking something out, and an even harder time trying to guesstimate Sakura's size. Least to say, it took well over an hour after their closing time before I had found, what I had believed to be, the 'perfect' kimono. Or I had hoped it would be at least.

Large paper bag in hand, I made my way down the busy little street which I normally preferred to avoid. At the last minute, I found myself turning into a small shop that carried sewing items. I bought a pair of scissors there with the money from my previous, overly large, victim. I had received several odd glances as I walked out from the shop, gracefully, yet quickly, and down the street before disappearing into an alley way. I then proceeded to head to our normal waiting place.

Upon arriving, I found myself alone in the field. Hmm... perhaps I was early? I probably was, since I usually woke up around that time and spent anywhere from half and hour to an hour hunting before making my way here, or anywhere else for that matter.

I walked over to the cliff, a place where I had found myself, along side a certain girl, staring lazily into the dark distance. I found myself repeating what I had done the night before.

Placing the bag of fine goods beside me, upright, I seated myself beside it, allowing myself the liberty to stretch my limbs before laying back on the dry dusty ground.

I folded my arms behind my head, head resting in my hands. I watched as a few dark clouds drifted in front of the moon, covering it briefly, before being whisked away by the winds.

My mind drifted to green eyes and auburn hair. She was... mysterious... in her own light. Always trying to please others, always drawing her sentences on and on when she became embarrassed... always in denial.

'Always in denial...' I found myself thinking repeatedly. At the edge of my mind I heard the soft, loathsome melody from my dream.

I felt my face twist in disgust at the thought of it.

_'Complete her song and grant her final wish...'_

I felt disgusted at the thought of my recent dream.

_**It was just a dream. Just one of your rare morbid dreams... it's best to just ignore it. **_

I found myself repeating as a mantra in my head. I closed my eyes, grunting.

"Just another stupid, worthless, horrifying dream..." I mumbled to myself.

"What dream?"

I bolted upwards into a sitting position, whipping around to see who the intruder was.

My eyes met the face of a familiar cheerful girl. I felt my stiff posture relax from a sigh of relief. It was rare for me to ever be caught off guard...

I eyed her up and down quickly. She wore a red turtleneck, cream overall shorts over that followed by black socks and her leather sandals. Her neck was decorated with a black silk choker.

"Sorry im a little late. Dad had me sent to Yukito's house to take care of me until he got back from his trip. I had a hard time convincing him to let me go to the festival with you." she said, her previous question forgotten already.

Yukito? I was unfamiliar with the name, but I shrugged it off, deciding that I would ask her about it sometime later.

"Oh?" I said slyly as I quirked an eyebrow. "How so? Humor me, if you will."

I moved over a little as she took a seat next to me. I could feel the vibrations of her small frame as she breathed in and out gently. My eyes drifted from her face to her hair as she stared out into the distance. She still hadn't fixed it properly yet. I brought my hand up, as I had the previous night, and fingered her delicate hair. Her gaze shifted from the sea to my face. She smiled.

"Yeah, I didn't get it cut yet... I haven't had time." she spoke, meekly.

I could smell the flowery fragrance emitting from her soft hair, as if I were actually bathing my senses in it. It was... how should one put it? Delightful.

"Well, like I was about to say," she continued, "I told him I was going to the festival. He offered to come with me, but I told him I was going with a friend. He was uneasy about it, since he knew I never really made friends well. He kept suggesting to come along, as a chaperone, but I kept telling him that it was something I wanted to do with my friend, alone. After that, he kept asking who my friend was! Isn't that funny?" she asked, attempting to stifle her own giggling with her hand.

I found myself smiling. I personally didn't find it as funny as she had, but I couldn't help but smile at her innocent fit of laughter. My gaze drifted from her hair to her face, then eyes, as she faced the sea yonder, where my line of sight remained as she continued her story.

"I just kept telling him 'just a friend', but he wouldn't accept it. Well, until I told him it was a secret friend and gave him a wink. I don't know what the wink meant, but I had seen it on TV shows a couple of times after a person was trying to keep a secret... I think that's what they were doing anyways..."

I personally didn't understand either, since it was a thing that became a fashion or whatnot after I had transcended from the human real to the realm of the living dead. After becoming a vampire, I never bothered to keep up with trends of time. It's been years since then though, and knowing what I do now, I most likely would have found myself blushing a little at that time. Well, if vampires can blush, that is.

A small silence befell us as we listened to the rolling and crashing of the sea below us. I had turned my gaze back out to the sea, along with hers for the time being. It was peaceful...

"So, are you ready to go to the festival?" she asked suddenly, her voice chirping with happiness, her gaze now fixed with mine.

I stood and offered a hand to her and pulled her to her feet.

"Almost."

"Almost?" she asked, cocking her head to the side in a questioning manner.

I reached down into the bag that sat next to me and pulled out a pair of scissors. I held them while opening and closing the blades a few times in a snipping motion as I grinned at her.

"Well, how about we do something about that hair of yours first?"

The look of surprise was replaced with an embarrassed smile on her face.

"Um... ok... but... have you done this before?" she asked, unsure of my skill. Well... a skill I was about to learn, anyways.

"Well..." I said, scratching my head. Very unusual of myself to do. "It can't be that hard. After all, all I have to do is cut in a straight line, right?" I said, a little nervous myself.

I was used to basically 'weed-whacking' my own hair when I was frustrated, only to have it grow back within a few days. It never came out looking right, but then again, I was never trying for a decent cut, until now.

"I guess... but don't mess it up any more than it is!" she warned. I attempted to not laugh at her warning. She tried to act tough and threatening, but it fell short, somehow. Not enough 'umph' in it, I suppose.

I placed a hand on her back and pushed her out into the grass, so as to not get hair all over our sitting area we normally found ourselves at. Not that it would have really mattered to me.

"Oh, but shouldn't we do this somewhere with more light?"

I smiled. "Don't worry. I can see perfectly fine as it is. Now, just hold still and don't fidget, or I might get your ear." I joked.

She stood stalk still the entire time, apparently taking my words of getting her ear seriously, as I had carefully cut a straight line in the back, but made it slope downwards when heading towards the front. It only took me a few minutes before I had finished the simple task.

She had pulled a few strands in front of her face before releasing it and letting her hands slide down her hair to the ends, examining them with her fingers. After a minute or so, she smiled up at me, apparently pleased with the result.

"Wow! You're really good at cutting hair! Maybe you should be a barber! I bet you could make a lot of money!"

I shook my head. "Sorry, my dear, but cutting hair is not my specialty."

Suddenly, her face twisted in a look of discomfort as she she reached back and began to scratch her back, or what her delicate hands could reach anyways. Oops. I had forgotten about the ends of the hair. I mentally slap myself. She was probably itching from the hair that fell down her sweater and the strands that had gotten caught in her sweater.

I felt a little awkward as I attempted to dust the hair off of her, only to succeed in getting them tangled more and more into her sweater. Oh, such a dolt!

"Well... don't worry about it." I assured her. I headed back to my bag before reaching in it and pulling out a kimono that was roughly her size, or at least I had hoped would be.

Her eyes widened in shock, once again, as I held the magnificent, and expensive, article of clothing before her. It was decorated with pink and blue Sakura and other unnameable flowers with green and blood red bamboo stalks. A few white cranes flying across the patterns of plants and a river of light blue clouds on a backdrop that was a lighter blue at the bottom, blending into the deep midnight blue at the top. All of the patterns were lined with gold thread.

I handed this to her as she stared in awe at it. I smiled at her as I reached down, back into the bag, before pulling out the Obi. It was a black Obi, decorated with silver bamboo patterns and a few gold swallows, dancing across the silky material.

I presented this to her as well, but by the time she had both in her arms, she was blushing deeply, unable to find words to express her joy, gratitude, whatever you wish to call her reason for lack of words.

"Do you like it?" I asked gently. The only thing she managed to do was nod her head quickly. I smiled.

I gave her a few moments to collect herself. Only then was she able to find words to express herself.

"This is for me?" she squeaked. I nodded, rolling my eyes.

"Does it look like it's big enough for me?" I asked, sarcasm dripping from every word.

The smile on her face widened even more than it had ever before. At first, I was afraid of what she might have thought about it. But seeing her smile made all of my bothersome worries wash away. I was worrying over nothing, practically.

"So I can wear it?"

I nodded. "Of course. I didn't buy it so you could just stare at it like a bumbling idiot."

She smiled her toothy smile before dropping kimono to the ground, very ungraceful like. I was about to protest about treating it properly when I felt a warmth enter my cheeks as I turned around quickly, eyes avoiding her at all cost.

Apparently she had no shame, for as soon as she had dropped the kimono, she proceeded to strip down right then and there.

Good thing we were out in the middle of no where, and I a gentleman. Otherwise... er... I'd prefer not to go into the subject.

Anyways! Ahem.

I gave her the time she needed to dress herself in her newly bought outfit that I had taken the time and pain to purchase. It only took her a minute or so to get into the kimono. By that time, she had asked for help on putting the Obi on. I agreed to help, even though I had no idea how to put one on, least of all put one on someone else!

After ten minutes or so of trying to get it right with her poor instructions and help, we managed to get it wrapped around her waist properly before tying it in place with a golden Obijime.

She moved her arms back and forth in the long drooping sleeves, looking herself over as much as she could without a mirror, before doing a little twirl in it.

"God. What a mess. Im glad I don't bother to wear Kimonos!" I exclaimed, wiping the sweat from my head.

She giggled.

"What's so funny?"

"Men have it better. They don't have to mess with an Obi or Obijime like we do. I bet you'd look pretty in a kimono too!"

I frowned. "Pretty is something men are not. Handsome, maybe. Pretty? That term is reserved for women."I found myself saying, crossly.

She continued to giggle, hiding her lips behind the sleeves of her kimono.

"Thank you, Syaoran!" she said in glee, before throwing her arms around my neck and pulling me down with her weight. I gasped in surprise, attempting to keep from saying anything about the kink in my neck I was quickly getting from her. She wasn't heavy, not to a vampire at least, but still, she was heavy enough to pull me down.

Well, best not to ruin her fun.

She placed a quick kiss on my cheek, causing me to nearly topple over from pure shock. How bold! I found myself thinking at the time.

I reached my hands up and gripped her arms in them before prying them off of me. Her green orbs pierced my own with unspoken swelling happiness. It made me wonder if she had ever experienced such joy in her life as this? Or, at least since the falling apart of her family.

Such thoughts I quickly whisked away, not wanting my concern to appear on my face as a give away to my thoughts.

"Well, the festival awaits. Shall we?" I asked, extending my elbow.

She clapped her hands as she jumped up a few times in excitement.

"Yes!" she exclaimed, before placing her hands in the crook of my elbow.

We soon entered a scene of bustling life that I had not experienced for many years. I felt a rush of adrenaline fill my veins as I smiled down at the fair girl that walked evenly with me by my side.

"Well, what would you like to do first?" I asked, a little more loudly than I normally did over the noise of the crowds of people, masked in their kimono's with colors that came from all spectrums of the rainbow.

She pointed a ways off to a fish scooping booth. I nodded and followed.

Upon arriving at our destination, the man operating the stand glanced us both over, his gaze lingering more on me than on the girl I escorted. He looked to be around his late 40s, slowly beginning to grey around the edges. It was very noticeable in his short black hair.

I sent a hard glare in his direction when I was sure Sakura wasn't looking. He shrank away like a dog with his tail between his legs. I smirked in triumph. Maybe that'll take a few more years off and give you a quick end, you brown nosing old man, I found myself thinking.

I felt the weight of her hands that were resting on my elbow, drop away as she bent down to peer into the water, examining the gold fish before her.

"Want a go at it? It'll be 300 yen." came the voice of the booth worker, gruffly. I watched Sakura reach for a small bag of money she had thought she had hidden in her kimono and I gave a sighed. I quickly pulled out the money and tossed it to the booth man. Double the amount actually. With her skills, she was going to need some extra chances.

The man took it with surprise, but didn't say anything before thrusting a small paper filmed scooper into Sakura's face. She had still been digging around for her small money bag, which she had probably left behind in the field with her other clothes, unknowingly.

I watched as she attempted to scoop a goldfish out, her face twisting in concentration, tongue slightly sticking out. I held back a chuckle.

In mere seconds, she had ruined the first scooper and was handed another, and soon, another and another. A total of 6 before I ended up tossing another 300 yen his way for another three chances. By the time she had reached her 9th scooper, she had finally managed to scoop a small white mixed with orange goldfish into her bowl.

"Syaoran Syaoran! I caught one! I finally caught one!" she cheered, holding the bowl up and in my face, before I pushed it away gently, laughing nervously.

"Uh, yes, you did." I could feel a little embarrassment creeping up my neck.

I watched as the man in the booth began to open a bag, ready to put the fish in, before Sakura suddenly dumped it back into the tank. The booth man looked next to horrified.

"Why did you go and do that for?" I asked, not the least upset, but rather curious. The booth man nodded.

"Im not fishing that fish out, Missy. And no refunds." the booth man said sternly. Sakura only turned and grinned down at him.

"I was only doing it for fun. I've always wanted to do it, but I don't have any place to keep it at my house." she said, attempting to be positive about it, but I could tell she was little disappointed with herself.

"Sorry I wasted your money, Syaoran." she said, adverting her gaze from mine. I just patted her head.

"Don't worry about it. I have enough money to last the rest of the night. Besides, as long as you're having fun, then it's not a waste, now is it?" I said, in an attempt to reassure her.

I watched as her face brightened quickly at my words.

I turned my gaze down the isle of booths that lined both sides of the large walkway. Red, Gold, and White lanterns hung between the booths and across, connecting to each as they went. The sounds of people enjoying themselves echoed into the night as food sizzled and hissed, bubbling luring smells into the air. Up ahead, not very far in the distance, was a large bon fire.

"Well, what now?" I asked.

She looked around, index finger to her chin, as she looked around. She then pointed excitedly to another booth.

"Oh! That! That! I wanna do that one!"

We walked up to the booth, where I, once again, received a longer, questioning stare, due to my apparel, from an old hag. Or, I at least hoped it was my clothes that drew the attention, and not something else, such as my fangs or what not.

Peering down, it was another water booth. This time, it was Mizu-yoyo booth. Or rather, a water balloon yoyo booth.

Once again, I found myself handing over more money willingly. And once again I found myself handing out more and more, until she had finally pulled one out.

The night was long and very eventful. After the Mizu-yoyo, we headed to a pottery stand, where I ended up participating in the activity as well. By the time we had managed to successfully create a bowl out of mud (im trying to express my disgust with the event, so allow me call it mud, instead of clay), my hands were covered with the material, and I, along with Sakura, headed down to a stream just a short ways away from the small festival, where we proceeded to wash our hands off, and I even having to save her from falling in once.

We later found ourselves at several other booths along the way, purchasing a few items here and there, all for her, mind you, for I had no use for such items. And we eventually ended up near the bon fire at a booth selling Okonomiyaki and next to it stir fry dishes and cotton candy. I bought a little of each, not bothering to even sample anything I had bought (or at least hoped I wouldn't but ended up anyways) but rather giving it all to her instead. After all, eating human food would probably result in the regurgitation of my intestine, which im sure you would all rather not hear about.

"Mmm! This is really good! Almost like my moms cooking!" came Sakura's happy comment, taking a bite of the okonomiyaki.

She then followed with a bite of her cotton candy before taking the chance to shove it into my face.

"Try some! This is really good too!"

I took a brief smell of the pink and blue sugary threads before pushing it away, as I had done several times already in this night alone.

"Oh, come oooonnnn... try some! It's reeeeaaaallllyyyy goooooooddd. See?" she said, as she took another bite, this time over exaggerating her chewing movements and emitting an 'mmmm' sound from her throat.

"Here! Just a little bite wont hurt!"

I moved my head to the side away from it as she held it in front of my face again.

"Um, no. You of all people should know I don't ...like human food."

Her eyes glistened over as she pouted, giving me her best puppy dog look she could muster.

"Please? Pretty pretty please? For me?"

I sighed in defeat. "Fine. But just... a little." I said, before pinching off a piece and shoving it into my mouth. I felt my face contort at the awful, putrid, vile, ghastly, inhuman (literally) taste.

"Is it good?" she asked, eyes still wide.

I nodded fervently, causing her to jump in circles for joy before I took advantage of her distraction to turn my head and spit it out followed by the wiping of my tongue on my sleeve in a pitiful attempt to rid my mouth of the awful taste. Luckily for me, by the time she was finished jumping for joy, I had regained my composure, but unfortunately for me, my stomach hadn't. I needed to sit down.

"Want more?"

"NO!" I shouted, hands up in front of me in defense before receiving several stares from the people around us. I looked around a little nervously. What was wrong with me? Other than a bad case of stomach ache from the terrible food, what was causing me to act this way?

I chuckled nervously, scratching the back of my head as I did so.

"I mean... I bought it for you, and it would be a waste if I ate it! After all, if I wanted one, then I can always go and... er.. buy myself one." Oh, how lame. I mentally kicked myself.

But she bought it. She looked a little disappointed at first, but quickly brightened up. But I still needed to sit down.

"How about we go watch the bon fire?" I ended up suggesting. By this time, we had already spent several hours messing around with the booths and stalls. There were still many that we had yet to explore, but I honestly didn't care for it.

She agreed easily enough.

We found ourselves standing in front of the large monitored fire, mingling with dozens of couples. This made me uncomfortable, but then again, maybe it was just my stomach.

After standing for a few minutes, just staring into the dancing inferno, I decided to take a seat on the ground. Jesus, why was my stomach in such pain? I couldn't figure it out. Yes, that candy probably triggered the cause of it, but it shouldn't be this intense, should it?

I felt the girl take a seat next to me, still munching on her cotton candy. I attempted to keep my face from contorting from my discomfort, even though the warmth brought from the flames did arouse a sleepiness within me.

_**God... last time I felt anything as bad as this was when I was a mortal... so why now?**_

I stared into the flames as they flickered and disappated into the air. Then I realized why I was feeling so miserable.

_**I knew I should have fed before coming here... this is the last time I decide to avoid feeding before going out, ever ever again.**_

My eyes ran across all of the people gathered around the center piece we were all drawn to, like moths to a giant flame. I felt my tongue run against my fangs, hunger quickly infecting me like an unwanted virus. How horrible this hunger was. My line of vision was soon landing on each one of their delicate throats where I would normally puncture my victims at.

I quickly closed my eyes, inhaling sharply in an attempt to calm myself.

_**Calm down, calm down. This is no place to quell such lustrous thirst... If I do, not only will it put myself in danger but...**_

I looked down at the girl beside me, just now finishing her candy. She suddenly looked up at me, the fire creating a glow around her face as she smiled.

_**...She would get caught in it as well...**_

I dug my fingers into the loose dirt beside me, attaining handfuls of it, before slowly, shakily, releasing it.

"Is something wrong?"

"It's nothing."

"You can tell me... I promise I wont laugh or tell anyone..."

"I said it's _nothing_." I said, putting much emphasis on 'nothing'.

She fell silent for a moment, her gaze drifting back to the bon fire, her smile now gone. She then pulled out the fan I had bought her from one of the stalls earlier that night. It was a white fan, with peach blossoms painted across it's face. She began to fan herself with it.

"Is it too hot right here?" I asked, trying to be a bit more gentle than I was a moment ago.

She gave a soft smile, her gaze still locked onto the crackling fire in front of us.

"Not really... just a little warm."

"Would you prefer it if we moved a bit further away?"

"Hmm... no. Im fine."

"Sure?" I asked, still attempting to keep my voice cool, calm, and collected, even though the hunger pains were still eating away on the insides of myself.

"I said im _fine_. So don't worry." she gave a reassuring smile, in hopes to convince me.

I returned my gaze to the fire, unconscious I had lifted my left hand to my mouth and began to chew on the side of my index finger, drawing out some of my own blood to quell the hunger when actually all I was doing was circulating it and making matters worse.

"Um... Syaoran?"

"Syaoran?"

"Syaoran, It's starting to rain."

I blinked a few times, finally drifting out of my revery. My mind was blank, but I had continued to chew on my finger until brought back to reality by Sakura.

I looked up into the sky for a moment, until a drop of water landed in my eye. Sakura suddenly stood up beside me, wanting to find shelter somewhere quickly. I sat for a moment longer, pulling my bleeding finger out of my mouth as I looked about me, watching the people quickly get up from their resting positions on the ground to huddle to find some shelter.

"Hurry, the starting to come down harder."

I pulled myself to my feet unwillingly and began to follow her. All of the people around us had taken all available shelter nearby, causing us to head for the nearest unoccupied tree some ways away. By the time we had reached it, we had been completely soaked through.

We watched as the bon fire sizzled from the onslaught of rain, slowly dying down into the darkness of the night. Not long afterwards, even the lanterns made of paper were melted away and the candles put out. The only source of light now came from distant low-sodium lamps and fireflies taking refuge under the trees from the rain.

A deep silence had ensued between us as we stared out into the darkness, listening to the pitter-patter of the rain.

I soon felt the effects of chewing on my finger as it throbbed painfully. I avoided looking down to see blood running down it, afraid of what seeing it might have caused. I placed it back into my mouth where I continued to chew on it, sinking my teeth deeper and deeper into it as a poor attempt to cure my deep unsatisfied hunger, hoping to avoid seeing it. I soon found myself staring at the white throat of my companion hungrily. Her kimono, having soaked up excessive water, had slipped just enough to reveal her delicate neck, causing the hunger within me to flare.

I attempted to look away, but found myself staring longingly at her, causing myself to bite harder into my finger, which was already on the verge of being sawed off by my fangs I had suspected.

I watched her rub her arms up and down in an attempt to create heat to warm herself, but I knew that in her soaked clothes, it was futile. Clutched in her left hand was the fan I had bought for her earlier.

"So, what is the name of this festival?" I asked. I was desperate to get my mind off of her neck and also to cure the uncomfortable silence.

Without glancing up at me, she spoke, "Yoshida no Hi Matsuri."

I watched as she rubbed her hands against her arms a few more times.

"The festival celebrates the ending of the Mt. Fuji climbing season. Normally, it's celebrated with large bonfires and lanterns and torches. The celebrations usually last well into the night, sorta like this one did... only it was cut short. Due to the rain."

"Is this your first time attending this festival?"

She shook her head. "No. I used to come to it every year with mom and dad... before things began to fall apart. I was really small then."

She sighed, before smiling slightly and looking up. Upon seeing me chewing on my finger, she gasped and jerked my hand out of my mouth.

"Syaoran! Your finger! What did you do to it!" she said, frantically, examining it. I remained silent as I watched her rip her silky necklace off of her neck and began to wrap my finger with it, hunching over it as she did this. My gaze fixated on her neck. A few locks of her hair fell into her face as she proceeded to wipe the wet strands back and out of her face. All the while, I continued stared at her neck, my hunger growing. When she was done, she took my hand and held it up for me to see.

"See? All better now!" she grinned. She continued to hold it up for me to look at, but my line of sight was fixated on her face where she had brushed her hair back. I dug the fingers of my free hand into my side, grabbing a fist full of wet cloth.

"Syaoran? What's wrong?"

There it was. My own blood. Smeared across the side of her lip and cheek. I bit my lip.

"Syaoran? Are you ok?"

I had been trying my best to avoid hurting her or anyone else during the night. But slowly I found myself falling susceptible to my own raging hunger.

"Syaoran?"

I was on the brink of tearing into her neck. I could feel it. I had to do something, yet I could not pull my eyes away from the blood. Ignoring instinct, my mind could only come to one solution. I had to distract myself. And upon that thought, my body took over as my mind went blank.

"Syaoran? What are..."

I could no longer hear her, the rain, or even my own thoughts as my right hand reached up on it's own accord. My surroundings became a blur before fading into a darkness I had known only too well. The only thing I could see now was her as my thumb hooked itself under her chin and my fingers grazed her cheek as I tilted her chin up and leaned forward.

Amidst the rain and fireflies, that was the first night I had felt the warm kiss of a humans soft lips since my mortal years, nor would it be the last...

* * *

Howdy all. Normally I don't do any A/N in this story, but I need to say a few things. Ahem: 

You all probably want to kill me in more ways than one, which I completely understand, AND would allow you to do, if it meant the quelling of your anger(s).

Anyways, I hope this (extremely) long chapter (long for me anyways. Took me two days just to type it!) satisfies your hunger until the next posting. Im so sorry for not posting in so long. I really am. I feel absolutely horrible about it. I just forgot about my story and etc. (If you read my bio, then you already know this).

Story is chugging along quickly (not really). I wanted this chapter to not be as depressing as the others, since it was supposed to have their 'big scene' (which is only about two or three sentences.) Can't say the other chapters will be this happy and whatnot.  
Please forgive any misspellings, mess-ups, and stuffs like that. I attempted to go back and re-read it all, but I have other things to worry about. (Such as writing the next chapter to this story and 'Dangerous Clockwork')

I spent a lot of time doing pointless research for this chapter. Such as what types of festivals there are in japan, the parts of a kimono, when stupid fireflies stop mating and die. GAH! The anguish I feel from wasting part of my life!

Well, that's all I have to say for now. Please leave reviews to express your anger and junk. You can kill me with your text. Also, please check out my newest story: Dangerous Clockwork  
It's also a CCS fic. Not as angsty as this one as well. Please review! Ciao!


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